Massachusetts State Police use 'stop sticks' to end Springfield car chase; driver charged with OUI, drugs

SPRINGFIELD — A state police pursuit on Interstate 91 in Springfield ended after troopers used stop sticks to puncture the fleeing car's tires Monday night.

The driver of the vehicle, Mark R. Bosworth, 50, of Enfield, Conn., was expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Springfield District Court on OUI and other charges, according to a spokesman at Massachusetts State Police headquarters in Framingham. The incident happened at about 9:20 p.m. Tuesday near Exit 8 of I-91 in Springfield, the trooper said.

Sgt. William Loiselle was watching I-91 traffic from the northbound breakdown lane when he noticed a vehicle traveling between marked highway lanes, police said. Loiselle pursued the car, which continued to travel back and forth between lanes, then activated his lights to stop the vehicle, police said. The car slowed but continued driving through a construction zone, police said.

Authorities made a decision to use stop sticks — a strip of portable spikes rolled into a roadway to deflate tires and slow fleeing vehicles — which punctured all four of Bosworth's tires. Two other cruisers blocked the roadway and guided the vehicle to the breakdown lane.

Police said Bosworth had glassy eyes and a strong smell of alcohol on his breath. He was arrested and taken to the Springfield state police barracks. Bosworth was in possession of medication that wasn't prescribed to him, according to the spokesman in Framingham.

Bosworth was released on personal recognizance and scheduled for arraignment today on double counts of possession of class E drugs and single counts of operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation and failure to stop for police.